UNRWA Files Emergency Funding Appeal for Gaza Strip Relief

The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) submitted a proposal Tuesday asking for three hundred million U.S. dollars in emergency funding to put towards relief efforts in the Gaza Strip. The largest component of the aid money, seventy-eight million dollars, would be set aside for providing food aid to the Palestinians there who have been suffering under the six-year blockade.

Deputy Commissioner General of the UNRWA Margot Ellis told the press that, “Funding shortfalls for essential, fundamental services in the occupied Palestinian territory have become a reality.” She went on to say that the quality of life for Palestinians in Gaza has declined rapidly from that of a second world country to a third world country with little hope for improvement without this and other funding.

UNRWA officials corroborated Ellis’ sentiments with reports of increasing settler violence and forced displacement of refugees throughout the area. The only solution thus far is humanitarian aid, given the politically charged nature of the situation in Gaza. So far, about half of the necessary funding has been raised. Even though it is well below the amount truly needed, the UNRWA says it still has the power to better the lives of nearly seven hundred thousand Palestinians living in the Strip.

Anyone can donate to the cause. For more information please visit the UNRWA website here. It does not take much to help a child or family in need in Gaza. A donation of only twenty-five dollars can feed a family for a week, and a donation of up to two hundred and eighty dollars provides the equivalent of an entire month’s worth of income.